The promise kept
by TheForceisright
Summary: Ezra Bridger had saved Lothal and his friends and outwitted the Empire's most noted strategist, Grand admiral Thrawn. Vanishing into the unknown he and his enemy set aside their differences to survive and find a way home. Not knowing that an old friend is keeping a promise to find him, Ezra Bridger becomes the most famous Jedi the galaxy never knew...
1. chapter 1

Ezra Bridger held them all at bay on the bridge of the Chimaera as the Purrgil morphed into hyperspace. Strange that the vacuum of space really has no effect in hyperspace but the ships environmental systems pumped air into the void via the broken windows of the bridge. Ezra found himself fading into darkness with oxygen levels barely able to keep them alive he faded into black. The voices of those he knew and loved mingling thru his mind, the Force was with him.

When he awoke, Thrawn immediately gasped for air. The last thing he remembered was being robbed of oxygen as the cold tentacles of the beasts wrapped around him had squeezed like a constricting viper, then the blur of open hyperspace. Sucking in the cold air around him he began to sense his surroundings, hands and knees in deep cool sand, he saw Ezra struggling to stand a few meters away. Focusing beyond that up a steep incline of sandy dune lay his Imperial star destroyer the Chimaera, in smoking ruin. "What, what have you done! What Jedi magic has out witted me yet again?" Said Thrawn, "Where have your beasts brought us?"

Ezra gazed at Thrawn as if dazed, " I'm... not... sure. Where are, what... how did we survive that!?" Pointing toward the smoking hulk. "How long were we out of it?" Asked Bridger. "Ask your beasts" said Thrawn, nodding upward. Ezra looked up to see the Purrgils high above them, each one disappearing into a flash of hyperspace. Ezra felt for them thru the Force, although they had gone from sight, he could still sense them. Abandoned but still connected, it all seemed to be clear to him now. He had saved Lothal and his friends but the Force always balanced itself. There is a price to pay for everything, for nothing is free, not even the Force. "We are stranded here, although i can't tell you where' here' is." said Ezra. Thrawn looked around at the purple twilight sky, after a few moments he pulled his communicator from his pocket and called on an emergency frequency, " Thrawn to Chimaera, any survivors contact me on this channel." Silence for several minutes. Thrawn noticed Ezra focusing toward the ship, hand outstretched. " I suppose you can sense survivors thru the Force?" he asked. A moment later Ezra opened his eyes and looked at Thrawn. "I can't sense anyone onboard." "Well then, " Thrawn says, " it appears we are the only survivors. " "But aren't we going to go look?" Asked Ezra, " we need to get up there!" " Of course we're going up, but I've seen enough of your force to trust you Jedi. We will find no survivors. " Thrawn said as he began to climb the hill. "Come, Ezra, we may learn from each other yet. We will surely need to learn to survive here on this seemingly desolate world. " As they made their way to the ship Ezra began to realize he and Thrawn would have to trust each other and yes, learn from each other, to survive and get off this planet and back home.


	2. 2

The fires were all out and the ships droids were busy shutting systems down to save power on the dying star destroyer. Ezra and Thrawn had not spoken to each other for most of the day. Both of them had been searching for survivors of the Chimaera to which none were found. When they finally met in one of the undamaged hangar bays Ezra was the first to speak. "I can't find a single person on this ship. It's like they all vanished. " "Maybe your beasts ate them, " Thrawn said, "or maybe... I am just at a loss for words. I've known of you Jedi for a long time but I have never seen such trickery, or mystic foolery in all my days until I met you Ezra Bridger. How is it that you have such connections with nature and beasts outside the Force? I must admit, you are the most brilliant strategist I've encountered thus far. I very much underestimated you and this is what it has cost me. Being marooned on a desolate planet far from the Empire, alone with you." Ezra shook his head in disbelief. Everything had happened so fast and in the scope of his planning but he couldn't figure out why only he and Thrawn were the only ones here. "Maybe somehow it's the will of the Force," he said, "or the crew all vanished with the Purrgil. They are mysterious creatures and very connected to the Force. Either way it seems that we were meant to be here. Do you have any idea where we are? You said 'far from the Empire', and I believe that we are but I have no clue how far. " Thrawn looked at Bridger and sighed, " I noticed a couple of familiar star patterns after we awoke. I believe we are not far from the furthest reaches of Chiss space, opposite the Empire, that should place is deep in the unknown regions. I also believe we may not be very safe here either. The Chiss Ascendancy has had reason to believe this part of space hosts a potential and dangerously formidable threat. One of the reasons I came to the Empire." "Were you running away from this threat?" asked Ezra. " No, I came to the Empire to ask for help. I promised my services to the Emporor for a promise of help from the Empire for my people, if the need were to arise. " "Your services as a military leader?" Ezra asked. "As a military strategist. I was allowed to join the academy and rise through the ranks, thus gaining the trust of Emporor Palpatine." Thrawn replied. "Did you know he was a Sith?" Asked Ezra, "A Sith master, with an apprentice. " " It was never my concern, nor the ways of the Force, other than some personal interest, and I deduced a many number of things. But my main concern and task was to do my duty and gain the support of the Empire if I ever found need of it in the future. " said Thrawn. Ezra thought for a moment then asked, " So you knew Darth Vader was a Sith and an evil man yet you took orders from him?" "Let me shed some light on things for you Ezra, " Thrawn said, " I knew a young Jedi many years ago. I saw such great qualities in him and he was a brilliant military leader and I had a kinship bond with him. It was a brief encounter but one I would never forget. Many years later, in the service of the Emporor I met him again. After being led to believe my old friend had perished in the Jedi purge. I was introduced to Darth Vader. I could not recognize him but something seemed familiar. It took some time but I finally figured out that this was the same man I had met years before. He was different. Full of hate and anger and pain. Far from the great Jedi I once knew. " In disbelief Ezra asked, "You knew Anakin Skywalker? And you knew it was he that became Darth Vader?" "Yes, " Thrawn said, " but I would never had let on to the Emporor." "That would have been your death warrant. " Ezra said.

"Yes I believe that."said Thrawn" Now, let's change the subject and aquire our shelter for the evening. " It has been a long day," said Ezra, " lets rest for the night." Thrawn agreed. Ezra wanted to hear more but there would be plenty of time for that later. As the droids took watch he drifted off in the ebbs and flows of the Force...


	3. 3

Chapter 3

Ezra dreamed. He dreamed he was standing in the world between worlds in the Jedi temple on Lothal. He could hear so many voices calling to him in every direction. He couldn't decide which way to go and he fell to his knees. He reached out with the Force to help him. It pulled at him from every direction. When it got to be too much to bear he yelled out, "I can't do this! I need help!" The voices all stopped, he opened his eyes to see Kanan standing before him. "Kanan, I don't understand." " You're work here is done, " said Kanan, "for now. You have a new task." "What task? What do I need to do? Asked Ezra, "I learned and listened even after you were gone, and how are you here by the way? Did you see what happened? I saved Lothal!" "I know," said Kanan, " but now you are needed elsewhere……" Kanan vanished from sight, as did the world between worlds, there was only darkness and the sound of his old master saying. "remember what you have learned. The force will be with you, always……."

Daylight had come, and with it reality. Ezra had been through a lot of growth in the Force in recent months and had seen some strange things in his short time training to be a Jedi. The past few weeks had been a strain on him and his new found ally as they worked to take inventory of their resources from the downed star destroyer. There were enough provisions for the two of them to survive here for the next 3 to 5 years and they both thought it realistic for it to take at least 2 years to implement their plan. With help from the droids and fabricating some equipment they planned to build a ship from the parts of the destroyer's two halves and various other ships and vehicles on board that survived the crash. Two of the main large ion engines and one of the smaller emergency Gemon-4 ion engines were salvageable as well as the solar ionization reactor. Much of the armament seemed to be undamaged but would need to be tested. Thrawn wanted to get them on line as soon as possible in case they were discovered by an invading force or pirates. Ezra thought getting something ready to fly with hyperspace capabilities was more important so they struggled some with priorities. They both decided that some of the droids could be programmed to pilot some of the Tie fighters to serve as a defense if they needed it. Thrawn went to work immediately dividing the number of droids needed for construction vs the ones needed for defense and programming them accordingly. Ezra went to work dismantling vital components needed for their new ship. This task would be huge and would take some time.

Each night when they rested Ezra and Thrawn would eat together and talk about the Force, the Empire, the Chiss Ascendancy, their families, the Ghost crew, their previous missions. Each one learning about the other and gaining new respect for one another. Each day they worked to build their new ship. Days turned to weeks and weeks into months. They kept a communication array up but did not transmit, only listened. They heard very little that Ezra could understand. Thrawn explained that it was all common traffic. Some pirating communications but all in Sy Bisti or similar languages. This confirmed his earlier statement of being near Chiss space but in the unknown regions. He had programmed the translator on the array to alert them of anything outside of the common languages they were hearing.

One evening Ezra asked Thrawn of he wanted to go with him in one of the troop transports to explore. They had done very little exploring since they got here and had spent most of their time working. "I could use some flight time Bridger, good thinking. " Thrawn said. "And I'd like to know more about this world we're stranded on, and yeah I need to fly too. " said Ezra. Thrawn took the co pilot seat and Ezra took the controls. They flew low over and around their home/ crash sight then set off to the south. It was a cool dry climate where they were and on most worlds it was always warmer near the equator so they hoped it would be on this world too. About 30 minutes into their flight they caught a glimpse of something reflective on the horizon. They scanned for signs of life but the readout was inconclusive. "What do you make of that, " asked Ezra. " I think it warrants an investigation, " said Thrawn, " but we should be cautious. May I suggest we set down here and send in a few probes. This carrier is equipped with reconnaissance drones. " "Great idea. " said Bridger.

A few minutes later the view screen showed what the drones were seeing. Ruins. A city, not very ancient, in ruins. This gave Thrawn a chill up his spine. As the readings came in it was evident that there once was a civilization here. They decided to return to their ship and keep working on getting off this world. They took a high attitude run and orbited once before returning. What they saw was evidence of a planet wide bombardment. Both of them thought that someone not unlike the Empire had been here and left their mark. They remained silent until they returned. "Admiral, " Ezra said, "I have to say, I have a bad feeling about this world and what may lie ahead of us. " "All the more reason to get our ship ready." Replied Thrawn, "Shall we discuss our armament situation now?" "What do you have in mind," asked Bridger. And with that they started a little reevaluation and redesign on their ship. It would still be some time before they could leave but they would be ready for anything once they did.


	4. 4

Chapter 4

Thrawn's mind was hard at work. He'd been up all night and reconfigured the ships whole design. The Chimaera's computer system would be fully integrated into this new ship which was now not just an escape vessel but a vessel with substantial military might. He'd heard stories many long years ago. Stories who's origins derived from the outer edges of Chiss space. Stories of a ravenous race that swept through the unknown regions destroying everything in it's path. He was not one to let fear move him but he allowed it to concern him. Enough to go through extreme measures to prepare his people from a threat such as this. This new ship would not only protect himself and his new Jedi ally but he predicted his people as well.

Ezra was busy helping the droids move equipment and parts. Large sections of the hull were being dismantled from the destroyer but the movers they had constructed were limited. Ezra used the Force to hold the hull as the droid operated tugs moved each piece into place. The armament and cannons had been dismantled and arranged for placement. 32 of the 60 Taim Bak XX-9 heavy turbolaser batteries were intact and Thrawn's new design called for all but 2 of them and 15 of the of the 60 NK-7 ion cannons. A Quad heavy turbolaser, a Dual heavy cannon turret and the only surviving defector shied generator. One tractor beam projector. All this had to fit and be installed and tested along with the hyperdrive being reconfigured to fit the lesser engine drive and weight difference from the star destroyer. And room to carry a small compliment of Tie fighters and 2 Tie defenders that were kept on board. There was so much work to do it was overwhelming. Thrawn had done a great job with the droids which numbered in the hundreds, 942 to be exact. They were all so busy working day and night it was like a small droid village that never slept.

Three months into the reconfiguration of the new ship Ezra thought to name it. It was taking on a look and feel of a sharp beaked war bird. Some of the shape of the star destroyer with heavy wings and heavily armed wing tips and mid section. The bridge stood out sharply ahead of the shield generator. To Thrawn it resembled a design superior to any ship of its size, built to quickly fight it's way through any threat it may face. "I want to name it bird of prey," Ezra said. "Dravec," Thrawn said, " Bird of prey in my language. " Dravec." Said Ezra, "has a nice ring to it. I keep thinking of Kanan tho, and all he's taught me. " Thrawn looking on with the first hint of sympathy Ezra thought he'd ever seen simply said, "Dume." "The Dravec Dume." "That, " said Thrawn, "has a nice ring to it. " "The Dravec Fume it is then. " Thrawn smiled, "when will we be able to take it for it's first test flight captain Bridger?" "Captain Bridger? Where did that come from?" asked Ezra. "As we are using parts from my imperial ship I shall retain the rank of admiral but as this is not an imperial sanctioned vessel I shall also promote you to rank of captain as I do not think it prudent to promote even the best of our droids. " Ezra smiled, "I accept the promotion, admiral. " he said with a laugh. "It'll be another few weeks at best before we can attempt to fly. " Very good, " said Thrawn, " we can….." just then an alarm sounded from the comm array. Ezra and Thrawn hurried over to the translator. They were hearing a language that neither the Empire nor Chiss Ascendancy had in their data banks. Something was out there and it seemed to be coming closer.

The scanners had been installed on the Dravec Dume and they were showing a ship entering orbit with another leaving it and coming to the surface. "We've gotta shut everything down before they see us," said Ezra. "They likely already have, "said Thrawn, "we must defend ourselves. Launch the defensive Ties and lets man the Tie defenders. "

Once in the air Ezra and Thrawn flew in formation ahead of the dozen Ties flown by the droids Thrawn had programmed. A shrieking alarm followed by the language they'd heard came over their com's. Thrawn relied "This is grand admiral Thrawn of the Imperial star destroyer Chimaera, identify yourself. The aliens didn't respond but their ship began to come into view. Again Thrawn spoke up, this time in Sy Bisti," This is admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy, identify yourself!" That got a response. A gravely voice spoke in very rough Si Bisti. "What did they say?" asked Bridger. "They ordered us to disengage or be terminated. " said Thrawn. "Ok, "says Ezra, " So we fight. "

The ship appeared in front of them and the droid TIEs attacked in a programmed formation. This allowed the defenders to attack from the flanks. The ship was no match and was soon dispatched. Two more of the alien vessels approached and were more prepared than the first. They flaked Ezra and Thrawn and were able to take out 7 of the TIE's. Ezra turned his TIE defender toward the ship flanking him and let the Force take control. Dodging blaster fire he waited till the last moment then dipped, flipped and fired, catching the underbelly of the alien ship which did not explode to his surprise but began to smoke and plummet to the ground. "Captain Bridger, I cannot shake the enemy. Follow us down to the surface and take him out. " Thrawn was in a steep dive with the alien ship firing at close range. The Defender was coming apart. Ezra caught up to the pair and used his ship to nudge the enemy fighter enough to make it cartwheel out of control. Thrawn leveled off just above ground and ejected before the defender impacted. The enemy ship tumbled as it skirted the ground and crashed intact at the bottom of a ravine. Lambda class shuttle was arriving, called in by Thrawn before his crash, and was landing to pick him up. Once on board he notified Ezra to head back to base but to fly at low altitude. Thrawn stayed and flew a pattern around the downed alien fighter as the orbital ship began to descend. "Admiral, the enemy vessel is descending from orbit, better head this way." Ezra said. "Negative captain, continue on. I have a plan. " Ezra arrived and boarded the Dravec Dume and watched from the bridge. As the alien ship got closer to Thrawn's shuttle it began to open it's armament. Just then, 2 of the ION cannons from the dismantled star destroyer fired, remotely of course from Thrawn's shuttle, and hit the alien vessel. It lost all it's power and began to fall crashing heavily into the ground and cracking open. Thrawn contacted Ezra to board a troop transport with 15 of the armed droids he had specially programmed for combat to come meet him at the crash sight. On the flight there, Ezra really wished he had his light saber .


	5. 5

Chapter 5

When Ezra and the droids arrived they found Thrawn standing beside the downed alien vessel. It was broken in many places and steam rising from the fissures. A black ooze leaking all over the ground. The vessel seemed to Ezra to be organic in nature. Bio mechanic. "Captain Bridger, " Thrawn said in his most official and serious tone, "we must double our efforts to get the Dravec Dume under way." "Why? What do you know? What kind of ship is this?" asked Ezra. "One that will be missed and we are running out of time. " Thrawn said. "Do you know them?" asked Ezra. "Yes, their species are known as the Yuuzhan Vong. This was likely a scout ship, although I believe their kind have been here before and have left this planet in waste. This is the threat my race has been worried about and this is the threat you and I will now face together. "

The droids had searched the Vong ship and found no survivors. And those in the crashed fighter perished as well. Ezra felt a strange void in the Force concerning them but attributed that to them being dead. Thrawn studied them and their ships like pieces of art. He gleaned as much information as he could this way. They returned to the Dravec Dume and worked diligently on getting it ready to fly. It was a fourth the size of the now dead Chimaera but just as deadly, they hoped.

The first test flight went well with just a few minor tweaks needed in the engine performance. The hyper drive needed to be tested in real time, the simulations had all shown nominal results but one wanted to be sure it worked if they happened to need a quick getaway. They could only jump as far as their scanners could reach as this part of space was uncharted and the navigation computers had no data to rely on to make a long jump. They decided to make a jump thru hyper space to the edge of the solar system and once there, scan out as far as possible. One, to look for Yuuzhan Vong, two, to allow the nav com to collect the data for the next jump.

After loading all the supplies, TIE fighters, droids, shuttle, equipment and such they left the desolate world behind. The Dravec Dume was agile and fast and ready to fly. Its been a little over 3 years since they arrived here and now they were finally leaving.

The first jump went as planned. Scanners were searching outward from the edge of the solar system. The nav com tallied it's findings and recommended the next jump. At this pace Ezra anticipated being and old man before seeing any type of familiar space. They exited hyperspace after the second jump as proximity alarms began to sound. The droid at the helm station notified captain Bridger that several unidentified vessels were moving in their direction. Ezra reached out with the Force but couldn't detect anything. Admiral Thrawn asked for bio scans. They were off the charts. Ezra, still reaching out, felt a familiar signature in the force and smiled. "Captain Bridger," said Thrawn, " make the next jump as soon as the nav com has its data. " The helm station droid notified that the approaching ships are closing fast and their signature data match that of the Yuuzhan Vong. "We won't have time, " said Ezra, moving toward the viewport and reaching out with the Force, "I'm getting us out of here. " Just before the blaster fire from the enemy's ships reached them, a giant Purrgil attached itself to the Dravec Dume and slipped into hyperspace.


	6. 6

Chapter 6

The Dravec Dume had dropped out of hyperspace into chaos. Proximity alarms, collision alarms and weapons alerts all sounding at once. The navigation, helm and weapons droids all verbalizing what Ezra was seeing. Multiple war ships dodging and arming their weapons. "Deflector shields!" screamed Ezra. "launch defensive countermeasures and arm cannons!" "Belay that captain. Open a channel at once!" Thrawn said. The comm droid advised a channel was open and Thrawn stood, "This is admiral Thrawn of the Imperial navy, and the Chiss Ascendancy…"then repeated in Si Bisti. A moment later a holo of a female Chiss appeared. She spoke in her language and Thrawn responded. The translators adjusted and this is what was said. "Admiral? I don't recall you being an admiral when you left Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Are you here to fight us? Or have you returned home? My long lost mate!" "I am not here to fight you or the Chiss Ascendancy. Admiral is my title among those I serve in the galactic Empire. It is pleasing to see you have risen to the rank of admiral yourself, Ar'alani my dear chosen mate. " Ezra thought her to be very striking, tall, regal, blue skin and piercing red eyes, her dark black hair in a neat bun and crisp attentive uniform. "May we be permitted to board your ship admiral?" Thrawn asked, "we have something of great importance to report that concerns all the Chiss Ascendancy. " "Permission granted," she said, " Do you have a shuttle or shall I pick you up?" Thrawn saw this as mistrust on her part because she wanted to see their ship first hand, he knew this because he knew her, and, it was strategic protocol when dealing with pirates or unknowns. "You may come and retrieve us at your pleasure my dear admiral. " Thrawn replied, appealing to her mistrust as a military officer and as his mate by calling her dear. "But time may be of the utmost importance here so do hurry. Thrawn out."

Ezra had tons of questions but Thrawn was hurrying to the landing bay of their ship and ignored him until they reached the hangar. "I will try to answer all your questions when we have more time. We must prepare for the admirals arrival and we must both be willing to share all the information we have on the Yuuzhan Vong and our encounters with them. Also, there may be an old friend, from the Empire, that will accompany the admiral. He may find your being a Jedi, shall we say, unsettling. Nevertheless we must be open and honest. The Chiss expect no less." "You'll have to tell me more about that too," said Ezra, "Seems there's still a lot we don't know about each other. "

The admiral's vessel landed and she stepped out onto the deck of the hangar bay. Ezra thought her even more striking than before. She had an entourage of military men with her, all ranking officials it seemed and one human wearing the uniform of the Chiss defense force. Thrawn and the admiral embraced and touched foreheads for a moment. Then the human stepped forward. "My old friend! How good to see you." He said. "It is good to see you as well my old friend. You have fit in nicely, just as I expected you would. "said Thrawn. "Ezra Bridger, captain of the Dravec Dume, this is Eli Vanto. He served as my personal assistant through my rise in the Imperial navy." Ezra extended his hand, "pleased to meet you Mr Vanto." "Pleased to meet you Ezra Bridger, and please just call me Eli. " Eli looked around, seeing the imperial TIE fighters and transports and shuttle and then cut a glance at Thrawn. " I heard things were bad with the Empire but, where did you aquire all this military equipment captain?" Thrawn cut in, "That is part of our story and what we need to talk about. " "Bad?" Ezra asked, "how bad? What have you heard?" "Let us all sit, in the mess hall perhaps, "said Thrawn, "and start from the beginning. "

An hour into their meeting, with Thrawn doing most of the talking, and most eyes on Ezra, admiral Ar'alani stood up and paced the floor. Thrawn had described everything from his attempt to end the rebellion on Lothal to being outwitted by Bridger and marooned on a desolate world to their encounter with the Yuuzhan Vong and subsequent escape from them leading he and Bridger to where they are now. How they built their ship, with Eli nodding in approval, and the use of the Purrgil by way of the Force, with this Jedi captain.

The Chiss had heard stories of the Jedi as they did try to watch the galaxy from afar , just to have some bit of knowledge of their surroundings in the universe. There were no force users among the Chiss but a related race, the Ferroans knew of the existence of the Force but did not practice any of its religious techniques. To the Chiss military brass present in this meeting they looked upon Ezra as a powerful ally. Only because he and Thrawn, being once enemies, and now seeming to have befriended one another, proved to them that the loyalty of the Jedi must be paramount. That and given the brilliant strategic defeat he had given Thrawn proved he was worthy of the attention of the Chiss Ascendancy. They accepted him.

Eli was skeptical. He'd been taught that the Jedi were evil doers and their reach for power had caused a war and the collapse of the republic. He'd been indoctrinated by the Empire though and now he had good news to share with Ezra concerning the Empire. "Captain Bridger, "Eli spoke up, "I think you'll be pleased to know that the Empire, last we heard, was fully engaged in a civil war with the rebellion." "With the?" Ezra gasped, "Rebellion? That means….."Ezra looked at Thrawn, " That means that the rebel cells HAVE formed into a powerful alliance! Admiral Thrawn I'm sorry, but this is good news to me. " " It is chilling news to me" said Thrawn, " I had high hopes that the Empire could help the Chiss, my people. I was there to make sure that happened. My defeat at your hands has helped cripple the Empire." "No, surely not?" said Ezra, " maybe we can still get the help we need. You said this threat from the Vong could wipe out the Chiss and then move on to the rest of the galaxy. What if we go back, both of us, and talk to the Emporor and the rebellion? Make them see that this threat affects us all. Maybe both sides will help--" "No!" yelled Thrawn, " don't you see? Both sides are engaged in a civil war. This makes them weak. But there still may be hope yet. The Empire has developed a great weapon. One I'm sure the rebellion still doesn't know about, that if we can get to it and convince the Emporor to use it against our enemies…" "Sir, " interrupted Eli, "The weapon you speak of, the stardust protect?" "Yes?" said Thrawn. Eli looked down then at Ezra and back at Thrawn, he shook his head, "that weapon was destroyed some 3 years ago," glancing at Ezra, " by the rebellion." Thrawns face turned a pale blue but his eyes burned with fury. "Some reports, just hearsay," said Eli, "say it was a Jedi that destroyed it and he has been leading the rebellion against the Empire." "Ahsoka " whispered Ezra, smiling. "You said 'He'? How? Do you have a name?" he asked. Eli, looking at Thrawn with concern said, "Skywalker. That's the name the whole galaxy is saying." " Impossible!" declared Thrawn.

Admiral Ar'alani finally spoke up, "Enough! Let us get back to this threat against our people. If all you've told us holds true we will be at war ourselves within days!" she turned to the others in the room, " admiral Ti' thank, send scout ships out in a 45 degree arc of the direction Thrawn and Ezra's ship dropped out of hyper space from. Alert high command. Let us return to the Gloryfang." She turned to Thrawn and said, " You are welcome to join me on my ship. The counsel will want to meet with you to debrief. Your captain may remain on his ship, I offer the services of commander Eli to remain here with him, to help him learn of our protocols if he chooses to stay and fight with us. " "I will, I mean I do." Said Ezra," I choose to stay and help fight. " Thrawn placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Ezra, you who once was my enemy, but now my friend, thank you for your offer to stay but your rebellion needs you. I know you have questions, as I do, about this Jedi fighting the Empire. Go and help him." "But don't you see?" stated Ezra, " I was brought here for a reason. Kanan even told me in a dream that I was needed elsewhere. There already is a Jedi leading the rebellion. No, I'm needed here and I intend to stay and fight. The way I see it, this is the first line of defense. Count me in admiral!"


	7. 7

Chapter 7

The high counsel of the Chiss Ascendancy was less than pleased at Thrawn's report. Not only had he failed to aquire the ally they needed and hoped for in the Empire, now the Yuuzhan Vong were approaching their borders and they had no help. The Chiss defense force would be outmatched and would require the best minds to help them survive. But the Force, as they would soon discover, would become their best hope and ally yet.

The armies of the Chiss were growing. There defense fleet had doubled in the few months after Thrawn had arrived. He had been given his own command as rank of admiral. He commanded the fifth fleet. His mate, admiral Ar'alani commanded the second fleet. Captain Bridger and his droid- manned super cruiser, the Dravec Dume, joined the second fleet with two other ships made up of elite fighters, ground and space combat fighters. The first and second fleets were patrolling the outer edges of Chiss space while the fifth thru seventh maintained the inner core of the ascendancy. Ezra would run reconnaissance missions and report back to admiral Ar'alani. He hoped his Jedi senses would help alert him of the Yuuzhan Vong. He waited on a chance to study them. The fact that they hadn't attacked yet made many in the ascendancy to think they were watching and planning, and that an attack would be eminent.

Deep in meditation one evening, Ezra reached out with the Force. He could feel the terror, the pain and death but could not see the cause. He searched every ebb of the Force until exhausted. He was about to give up when he heard his master's voice say, " keep searching Ezra, you'll find what you are looking for. May the Force be with you….." concentrating on the pain and terror instead of the source he realized what he was feeling was the evidence of the enemy, that they were attacking someone…..

Ezra ran as fast as he could to the bridge. Eli looked at him with worry when he burst into the room. "Navigator, where is the nearest habitable planet?" Eli answered before the droid could, "It is here, on the chart, just outside this system. Why do you ask?" " I believe that planet to be under attack" said Bridger, "set a course and notify admiral Ar'alani." "We shouldn't just rush in captain Bridger, " said Vanto, "We could jump in, scan them, then jump right back out to here. If the Vong are there in great numbers we'll need help. If not…." "We attack immediately. " said Ezra.

The jump only took a minute. The Dravec Dume appeared over the planet Nireth and saw three Yuuzhan Vong warships in orbit. Scans indicated ground troops were fighting in the cities below. The Dravec Dume jumped back into hyperspace and Ezra made a plan. Without having any time to relay to the others he had the comm droid send a message to the second fleet to attack on the ground when they arrived. They exited hyperspace and Ezra told the helm to jump back in and arrive between the three warships and the planet. They did and the Vong were caught off guard. The Dravec Dume appeared between the ships and the planet with all batteries firing. The first ship exploded, the second ship was quickly disabled and losing altitude. The third ship however got off a few shots of its own. The Dravec Dume out maneuvered it to a nearby moon. "Helm take us as close to the surface as you can" Ezra said. As they skimmed the surface, dodging blaster fire, Ezra reached out with the Force and started plucking the boulders from the ground behind them. The Vong ship couldn't maneuver through the debris rising up behind the Dravec Dume and succumbed to the damage and plummeted into the moon.

Meanwhile the second fleet had arrived and began sending down ground troops. Admiral Ar'alani contacted Ezra to return to the battle above the planet. Two Yuuzhan Vong ships arrived out of hyperspace and opened fire on the second fleet. Their small fighters pouring out of the larger ships seemed to resemble a swarm of insects.

Ezra 's ship arrived at the battle as the first wave of fighters fired upon the Gloryfang. "Deflector shields, fire ion cannons at the swarm" said Bridger, "fire everything else at the closest Vong ship. " The ion cannons disabled many of the swarming fighters and the big guns hit their marks. It appeared to Ezra that the Yuuzhan Vong weren't much of a match for the Chiss defense fleet in space but ground communications suggested the Chiss were being overrun. Admiral Ar'alani was sending a message to the fifth fleet for assistance when 6 more Vong ships arrived. Opening fire on the admirals ship, the Vong surrounded the second fleet. Ar'alani's ship began to list and drift downward, losing altitude and defectors.

Ezra needed to do something quick. He reached out with the Force and called on the Purrgil. He could sense their hesitancy and tried to encourage them to respond. He shifted his senses to the Vong ships. While he could not sense the Vong themselves he could see the biological parts of their ships. He reached out to touch the ships, there was no sentient will but he willed chaos to the living parts. This disrupted the Vong vessels enough to cause two of them to collide and burst open. Two of the ships stopped firing and one began to fire wildly at everything. One ship vanished into hyperspace taking out one Vong ship and one Chiss ship in a blaze of brilliant light.

The fifth fleet arrived and admiral Thrawn contacted the Gloryfang which was descending to the surface. "Admiral Ar'alani I am sending down 20 troop carriers to assist you". "Admiral Thrawn", Ar'alani said, "we have lost our ability to remain in orbit but have 80 percent helm and thruster controls. We will touchdown on the western flank of the heaviest fighting and join our ground troops there. Have your troops ready to assist us. " "I understand, " said Thrawn, " I will take command of the entire operation from here. Report to me when you engage the enemy. "

Half a dozen of the Purrgil arrived and attacked the disabled Vong ships then vanished. The Chiss Ascendancy's fifth fleet opened fire on the Vong and were well on their way to obliterating them when Ezra felt a call from the Force on the planet below. "Helm, plot a course to the surface, " he said, " north of the fighting. Advise admiral Thrawn that we're joining the fight. " "Captain Bridger, " said Thrawn, "Your assistance is appreciated. The ground troops are in need of air cover. Contact admiral Ar'alani and coordinate with her. " "Admiral, " said Bridger, " I feel something, in the Force, from the north. We're going there but will fly over admiral Ar'alani enroute. " "Understood master Jedi, " said Thrawn, "I trust your use of the Force, but do check in on my mate please. Report to me what you find at both locations."

The Dravec Dume arrived over admiral Ar'alani's ship. The Yuuzhan Vong were a half kilometer away in a surrounding pattern. The Chiss seemed pinned down as heavy blaster fire from the Vong inched closer. In many areas inside the perimeter hand to hand combat had ensued. Ezra ordered the batteries to fire on the Vong who then retreated toward the north. This allowed the dug in troops to return inside the perimeter and attack the Vong there from behind. Captain Bridger contacted admiral Ar'alani to let her know he was pursuing the Vong to the north. The admiral's second in command, commander Ma'tithrow advised that the admiral had been captured, along with about a dozen troops, and was taken away by the enemy in the retreat to the north. Ezra turned his ship north and followed the direction of the Vong. He searched for them thru the Force but could not detect them. He felt for admiral Ar'alani and could barely detect her toward the northern mountains. He had the helms-droid set a course and contacted Thrawn.

It was strange that he could feel a pull from the Force but could not detect the Vong. It was like they were completely closed off. But what he sensed was pulling at him. Could there be an ancient Jedi or Sith temple here? One thing was for sure. He was about to find out.


	8. 8

Chapter 8

Ezra and a group of elite Chiss forces had tracked the Yuuzhan Vong to a cave at the foot of the tallest mountain. With his Jedi senses he detected the captured Chiss troops deep inside. But something else called to him. Wishing he had his light saber he led the group inside.

The natural cave tunnel wound around and down slightly to the right seemingly forever before opening up into a large cavern. There were 3 Vong standing guard at the mouth of the cavern and the rest were building a fire and herding the Chiss troops into a makeshift cage of rock and stalactites. This is the first time Ezra got a close look at the Vong. They were grey-ish, tall humanoid creatures with a skull like face and red eyes, pointed ears. They wore a black biomechanical suit with horns and dagger like protrusions.

Ezra, hidden in the shadows, reached out with the Force to touch the mind of the closest guard. He felt only a void where a lifeform should be. He tried a Jedi mind trick to make the guard look away but the Vong stood firm. Ezra couldn't get thru. He caused a stone to roll about 3 meters away and that took the guard's attention. Making a mental note, he reached up toward a hanging stalactite and broke it loose allowing it to fall and it's sharp point pierced the Vong's cranium dropping him where he stood. While the other two guards were studying their fallen comrade two Chiss elite soldiers quietly attacked them, driving their blades deep into the base of their skulls.

The captured troops had been subdued by a stun weapon by the lead Vong who seemed to bark orders at the other warriors and had soon noticed the 3 guards were missing. He yelled some unutterable noises toward 4 of the Vong and they scattered around the cavern and began searching. Ezra could hear them sniffing as if looking for their scent. The Chiss elite commander ordered the others to scatter in a defensive formation and to wait until his signal to fire. Ezra used the Force to push the leader of the Vong soldiers but couldn't seem to push him over. The Vong started looking around the cavern as if looking for who had pushed him, which only caused him to trip, and Ezra tried pushing again but only caused the Vong to stumble and flail his arms trying to hit the invisible "push". This alerted all the Vong who formed a small circle with their backs toward each other, weapons trained outward.

The Chiss had taken up position and the order came and all fired at once most of the Vong dropped but a few rolled and fired and the fight was on. Ezra noticed the leader run deeper into the cave and followed him. He could not see the Vong or his way through the dark cave but could hear him just ahead. After a bit it got strangely quiet. Ezra turned on his light and was face to face with the Vong commander. He struck Ezra hard in the face knocking him back off his feet. The Vong leapt toward Ezra as he tried to Force push him enough to keep the creature from landing directly on top of him. Which didn't work but Ezra rolled just in time to miss being smashed. Jumping to his feet he used the Force to break away a stalactite and hurl it toward the Vong crashing it into his miss section. Before the creature could recover, Ezra dropped a loose boulder onto the commander and rendered him motionless.

Ezra touched the Vong to try to get a sense or Force presence from him but felt nothing. It was then he heard it. Like a small voice, or tune, singing. He'd heard the sound before and his heart leaped for joy. It was a cyber crystal! Coming from deeper in the cave. He left the Vong and made his way along the dark walls. He had gone on about 45 min with the cave getting smaller until he could go no more. There in the darkness it began to glow and sing, calling out to Ezra. A blue crystal about the size of his thumb. He knelt down and touched the crystal and smiled. His thoughts dwelt on Kanan and Ahsoka and Yoda and Obi wan and all the Jedi. He wandered who the Jedi hero was that was leading the rebellion. He felt calm and tired. He sat cross legged and began to meditate, reaching out with the Force. He raised the crystal off the ground and sought out his purpose in the universe.

The Chiss commander searched for Ezra and the runaway Vong while the rest of the elite force escorted the rescued prisoners out of the cave. Admiral Thrawn 's ground forces had driven the Vong back to the ocean and he himself had arrived at the cave to find admiral Ar'alani and her troops being tended to by a medic. "It is good to see you in one piece my life mate. " Thrawn said. "It is good to see you Mitth'raw'nuruodo." Said admiral Ar'alani. "The Yuuzhan Vong are defeated?" she asked, "No, but we have them backed into a wall, or an ocean, as it may be, " said Thrawn. Ar'alani frowned, " I assumed since you were here that you had finished them. " she said. "Our troops are taking care of that as we speak, my dear, " said Thrawn, " and I wanted to check on you personally. And I felt the need to talk to my Jedi friend. Where is he?" "Commander Chi' tiali," Ar'alani spoke into the comm, "report. " "Chi'tiali here, we have not been able to find captain Bridger nor the runaway Vong commander, but we have yet to search all the caverns. " "Continue searching, Ar'alani out." Thrawn wondered what Bridger was on to, or what wild beasts he had found in that cave. Whatever it was he hoped it would help in the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong.

Ezra could hear Kanan from time to time during his deep meditation. He heard him again, but this time he opened his eyes and saw him as well, much like his dream. "I see you found a cyber crystal," Kanan said. "It called out to me, " said Ezra, "now I need to build a light saber with it." " You will need it in the fight you face, " said Kanan. " Why can't I feel the Yuuzhan Vong through the Force, Kanan? It's like they're invisible and immune from my force techniques. " "They are cut off from the Force," said Kanan, " void from it. It is believed their ancestors were so deep in the dark side that the Force abandoned them entirely. " " I have to be creative when fighting with them," said Ezra. " You're a brilliant strategist Ezra, but I wouldn't count on the Purrgil to help out much. They're afraid of the Vong" "I need to connect with them and help them understand" said Ezra, "the Yuuzhan Vong need to be stopped at all costs." "Agreed, " said Kanan, "now, do what you need to do," as he faded away, " they're looking for you……"

Ezra emerged from the cave to see that a base camp had been established by commander Chi'tiali. Several Chiss V wing fighters had landed nearby and a transport shuttle. Commander Eli was talking to a group of officers from the elite corps and noticed Ezra emerge. "Captain Bridger!" exclaimed Vanto, "we've been concerned about you. Admiral Thrawn wishes to see you immediately, to debrief you. " "Is he here?" asked Bridger, "planet side?" " No he is aboard his ship in orbit. I am to take you to him. Commander, ready the shuttle for rendezvous with admiral Thrawn on his ship. " As they lifted off in the shuttle, Ezra could see that there was still extensive fighting on the coastline. He wandered how many more Vong were out there, waiting to join the fight.


	9. chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ezra met with Thrawn and told him everything that happened to him concerning the Force and the Vong. Thrawn was most interested in the part where Ezra used the Force to confuse the biological parts of the enemy vessels. " Maybe" said Thrawn, "there's a way to get your friends the Purrgil to teach the Vong ships to jump into hyperspace. Some way that you and they can work together to make that happen," "I don't know, " replied Ezra, "they're afraid of the Vong ships. It took all I had to encourage them to help as much as they did. " "Maybe you should spend some time with them" said Thrawn, " can you find them and go to them?" "I can but I need to work on my lightsaber, I'll need time to meditate. " said Bridger. "Go and do what you must, and report back to me as soon as you can about the Purrgil. I have a plan. " said Thrawn.

Back on the Dravec Dume Ezra sat in meditation. He'd been gone from the battle only a week and had constructed his new lightsaber to near completion by using the Force to move everything into place. He sat cross legged floating above the floor with his assembled saber floating in front of him. He used his mind to switch it on and heard the familiar hiss hum as the blade ignited for the first time. He opened his eyes and saw his new green blade. He reached out as He took it in his grip. The hilt felt good, the vibration sang thru his skin. Now he was ready for battle.

The Purrgil had allowed Ezra to find them and connect with them. He pleaded with them thru the force to help and they knew they could trust him. He devised a plan and showed them through the Force what he wanted to do. He wasn't sure it would work so he took one Purrgil and a shuttle and allowed the beast to wrap it's tentacles around it and jumped into hyperspace. The Purrgil knew where to find the Vong and Ezra hoped to single out one ship to try his plan on. They dropped into real space above a lonely planet and saw the scout ship. Ezra connected with the Purrgil and reached out to connect with the living parts of the Vong vessel. The Force flowed through beast and Jedi and biomechanical machinery until they were one, they were connected but only through the Force, as Ezra's mind saw the connection, he told the Purrgil to focus on jumping to hyperspace into the star the planet orbited. As the Purrgil complied the Vong ship began to respond but it did not jump into hyperspace. Ezra nudged the Purrgil to place the tip of one tentacle on the ship and try again. This time the Vong ship responded with a flash and bright explosion as it disappeared into the sun. The plan would work, he hoped. Now to try it on a grand scale.

The voyage back to Chiss space was quiet and Ezra meditated on the coming battle. He wanted it to be swift and complete to eliminate the threat once and for all. By the time the Dravec Dume arrived, the second fleet was heavily engaged with the Vong. Ezra reported his findings to admiral Thrawn who urged him to have the Purrgil ready. Thrawn explained how he would order the Chiss ships to maneuver to draw in as much of the Yuuzhan Vong ships as possible and wanted enough of the beasts to match those ships and attach to them. Ezra would give the command through the Force essentially destroying all the Vong and their ships.

The battle ended as quickly as it began. With the help of the creatures, Ezra had eliminated all the Vong ships in the battle and the others in the region retreated to unknown space. A decisive victory that left Thrawn very impressed and pleased.


	10. chapter 10

Chapter 10

Years had passed since the Chiss defeated the Vong and Ezra had become quite comfortable living in the unknown regions with a group of Force sensitive beings that the Chiss legends called skywalkers. He had considered teaching them the ways of the Jedi to help restore what was taken away from the galaxy by the Sith but the more he learned of their ways the more he found it difficult to try to build something that once was from something that while very familiar to Jedi, was so much more fluid, and living. Maybe this was the future of Force sensitives. The origins of the Force were a mystery yet there was something about the skywalkers that seemed right and true.

Thrawn had not been in contact with Ezra for a long while. He had hoped that Ezra would become a leader among the Force sensitives he'd found and would one day lead them to the Chiss acendancy to become the "Jedi" of the unknown regions. He had come to the realization that the galaxy, where ever and everywhere in the galaxy, was shaped and influenced by not only the Force but it's users, good and bad. Little did he know that Ezra had decided to just learn the ways of the Force from them and become one of them, rather than lead them as a Jedi. They were very similar in their ways but allowed themselves to grow in the living Force, to not fear the darkside but not ever fully embrace it either.

It was after a military briefing one day that Thrawn decided to contact his old friend Ezra. Far in the unknowns, Chiss operatives brought back scans and news of a large strange ship that had taken up a position in an area of space mostly inhabited by non space faring people. Thrawn recognized the ship immediately as an Imperial super star destroyer. The Eclipse. The Emperor's flagship. He petitioned the military counsel to allow him to take a small group of specialized personel to investigate the ship and convinced the Acendancy that he alone should lead the investigation. He knew the empire was gone but also knew that a super star destroyer was way out of place here this close to Chiss space, and if there were to be a threat from the remaining imperials he would see to it that it never reached his people. He was definitely taking Ezra with him on this one.

Ezra was happy to hear his old adversary's voice over the communicator. It was customary to announce one's intention to land at the old monastery the skywalker group occupied. Ezra quickly gave clearance to land and watched the landing port as a sleek black Chiss ship descended. This was a new design that he'd never seen before but recognized it as a covert military ship, having already spotted the hidden weapons ports he'd become accustomed to seeing during the war. Thrawn walked down the short ramp to greet Ezra, "My old friend, you look well for a misplaced Jedi." " Oh I've never felt more at home, It's good to see you. What brings you here today?" Ezra asked. "Come," said Thrawn, " let's sit inside and talk."

Inside the grand hall of the old monastery after being seated Ezra sensed tension from his old friend. "I've tried to keep up with the news," he said, " in case the Vong try to return, but I doubt they will." "It is not the Vong that brings me to you," said Thrawn, "but the Empire." A shiver ran thru Ezra. "The empire is dead, is it not? We'd heard reports that it had been defeated and that Palpatine was dead. What have you found?" Thrawn pulled up the scans from the Chiss scouts. Ezra's jaw dropped, " super star destroyer..." "Yes," Thrawn said, "and not just ANY super star destroyer, but the Emperor's flagship, Eclipse." "But how can that be?" asked Ezra. "That is precisely what you and I are going find out. I have assembled a small team of elite commandos to go with us. I thought you would be the best candidate to lead us." "Yes of course!" said Ezra, "when do we leave?" Thrawn smiled, "Now if you are ready. Please bring your lightsaber." Ezra pulled back his robe to show Thrawn the lightsaber hanging from his belt, "I never leave home without it."

Ezra found his quarters on board the Tiqiru, Chiss for stealthbird, and was introduced to the team. Only three Chiss soldiers in plain clothes, each specializing in covert operations, communication and interogation. Thrawn had Ezra take the helm and instructed him on the coordinates but that they would not travel through hyperspace. The Tiqiru was stealthy enough to get by any scans from the imperial flagship. Travelling this way would take some time but the region of space they were going thru was tricky anyway. Very densely populated with nebula and rogue planets, very few hyperlanes had been opened because of constant gravity fluctuations so sometimes even the best pilots would find themselves in trouble. Hopefully a Jedi would be able to navigate freely thru.

Two days into their journey sensors picked up a distress call. Distress calls were common in this part of space and the Chiss regularly trained here. But this call was unusual as it was not a locally known signal, not to the Chiss on board except for Thrawn, and Ezra found it strangely familiar as well. He and Thrawn both said it at the same time, "rebels?" "That's a familiar signal," said Ezra, " one the rebels used." "Yes, it is in fact an even older signal than that." said Thrawn. " What do you mean?" asked Ezra. "The rebels oftentimes used old republic equipment, anything they could get their hands on I suppose. This signal is from a clone wars era ship with rebellion era technology." Ezra reached out with the Force, closing his eyes to concentrate. He opened his eyes suddenly and punched in coordinates. "I feel a strange familiarity in the Force, they are inside the nebula" he said. "Hold course and all stop" said Thrawn. "What are you doing?" asked Ezra. "This could be a trap my dear Jedi. What are the chances of us covertly investigating the Emperor's flagship super star destroyer here at the far edge of Chiss space AND finding a distress call from a clone wars era rebel ship? I have a bad feeling about this, something isn't right." "You're right, it does sound strange but the Force is telling me we've found something good, there's no darkness, only light." The comm specialist, a Chiss named Lal spoke up, " I have the vessel on our scans, a blurry image but..." " That" Thrawn said,…"Is a T-6 shuttle!" exclaimed Ezra. "You are correct Ezra." said Thrawn. " It was widely used by the Jedi during the clone wars"... Ezra thought about the familiar feelings thru the Force and thought back to the time in the world between worlds when he told her to promise to come find him...


End file.
